Pelster Angus Ranch: Conservation in the Sand Hills of Nebraska

By Kathy Voth / January 19, 2015 / Comments Off on Pelster Angus Ranch: Conservation in the Sand Hills of Nebraska

The Sand County Foundation gave the Leopold Conservation Award to the Pelsters in recognition of how their efforts at rotational grazing have improved the land and water. We’re sharing this video for the inspiration and the fun of visiting a beautiful ranch.

For this mini-trip we’re headed to the Sand Hills of Nebraska in the summer. Pelster Angus Ranch was started in the 1930s and is now owned and operated by Duane and Nancy Pelster. This operation is interesting because it demonstrates how managed grazing can work on the larger scale required in the midwest and west. Cattle are rotated through pastures through the grazing season, and the first pasture to be grazed one year gets grazed last the following year, giving it plenty of time to grow great forage.

Duane received the Leopold Conservation Award in part because he focuses on managing with Nature. His careful use of water resources and moderate grazing sets him up for the best of times, and the droughts common in the west. Duane says that this is just the right thing to do for the land, and for his own bottom line.

Enjoy this summer visit to Nebraska with Duane, Nancy, and their beautiful black angus cattle.

About the author

Kathy worked with the Bureau of Land Management for 12 years before founding Livestock for Landscapes in 2004. Her twelve years at the agency allowed her to pursue her goal of helping communities find ways to live profitably AND sustainably in their environment. She has been researching and working with livestock as a land management tool for over a decade. When she's not helping farmers, ranchers and land managers on-site, she writes articles, and books, and edits videos to help others turn their livestock into landscape managers.